Fire extinguisher



Sept. 11, 1945.

w. F. BLAKE FIRE EXTINGUISHER Filed April 21, 1944 J5 F2 F /e f2 /5 Patented Sept. 11, 1945 UNIT ED STATES PATENT QFFIC'Ev 23845. 1; FIRE EXTINGrfIsfiEit Will'iiihi F. Blake, ohies oyifit Application April 21, 1944; tif1-iirtifi 8 Claims. (01 ree -2*) invention relates tfdfi're extinguishing units and more particularly to an open ended drumlili'e un it having the capacity to automatically control and extinguish any fire's' that it is practicabletoenclosei v v It is the principal object of my invention to provideat fire eX'tin'guisliing unit that can be placed over a fire and which will coact with the combustion products" of the fire itself to automatically control and ektinguish'the fire. v

drunr-likeunit can: be usedtoextinguish oil; gasoline',; or other fires. It" is also particuleirly applicable to wastebasket's and" can be used asanfiritfegi'al part-of a new type waste basket sfo'that the basketis continually and at alltimes are proof. Inother words; this featurebecomes' a part of thebasket andfis always on guard against fires which may start within the; basket.

For" purposes of description and clarification the fireextinguishing drum' as'applied to waste baskets isdescribd in detailand its principle of operatioriis herewith explained. The principle of operation is the same when used over any fire. Mifior cliang be made inithe construction if nece sary forf convenience without departing fio'rh the broad'basidprinciple; I

The ord ifiary type" of coverless; waste basketis genera-Hy" recognized as constituting a' distinct fir hazard? The large'; opentop of snch a recep tacle appears to invite the thoughtless'dropping 'rn in g matehesycigars; and cigarettes into its irrtenor vihichmay ignite-anyinflammable material in the basket?andcause serious fire losses. Firesthus started are-easily sustained by fresh air flovsii'rfg downwardly into the basket and sp'rading of the fire to adjoining curtains, rugs; and furniture is not prevented by'the fact that the basket may be composed of nonac'ombustible material. Accordingly, since the trash in such baskets-is likely to be ignited at intervals; it is important to-proyide ac' ntrcSlFthat does not requirtheu'se o f fire'fighting"equipment; V

It erefoie-'another objectof my invention, as applied to vi'ra'xst'e baskets; to provide an open top waste basket or container which embodies feature's'thatboact-with the combustion products of a fire in the basket to automatically control and rapidly extinguish the fire,

A further object is to provide a basket of the character indicated which possesses simplicity of construction and may be manufactured of inexpensive materials.

These and further objects of my invention will be set forth in the followin specification, reference being had to the accompanying drawing, and

the never b said objct's as; e ee Be d' finitely pointed out in the deaths.

ia butt v a stance 1n order to'w'ithistand any harrih aetiohto' whichtn Basket may be'pe'ri- If desired, the container may heiizues' m ehdflrhey he made td'tflei iiiterldf 9'? t jba li l or. e e vi g-the trashfai'n'l''riaip erl The bag; provides a convenient emovfmggthecontents without lifting mqrie fi ishss se $1 45?? .iie hhin rum isused alonei tilnstsie 99nnsc cn= with the Waste-basket the Q I nQRQnQ paperbagjare unnecessary and it'- willbe shown later how the device m'ay' beadapt-' ed fin separate use.

, Ihe' fire-2 COIlfiI'Ol'fiSPBCl', .of my: invention is provided by: acontrol or'exting uishing'drum' I2 hav in'gairtight walls whicli cons'ists 'of a 't'op' portion I13; welded'tota bottom" portion Met-the point 15. The 'drum ithus rerzhea hee ihw' 31y extending-- flanges l-e sua l1 about the top" and bottom providing apertures l8 and I9 in the drum ends of a diameter less than that of the drum, the apertures being of sufficient area to permit waste to be easily deposited therethrough. The top flange I6 may be inclined downward as an aid in forcing toward the bottom carbon dioxide and other gaseous products of combustion. The pocket 22 thus formed is a zone having air tight walls at all points except the upper and lower apertures.

Spaced from the upper peripheral edge of the drum and attached to the side wall of the drum at point I5 and extending outwardly therefrom is an annular portion or rim 2!] which rests on the upper peripheral edge of the basket side wall thus forming a substantially air tight connection between the basket and drum rim. Depending from the portion is a. flange 2| which frictionally engages the basket side wall and coacts with the rim 20 to form the air tight connection with the basket. To adapt the drum for sepa: rate use, the same may be modified as illustrated in Figs. 1 and 3 wherein corresponding parts are numbered as in Fig. 2. The modification differs from the arrangement shown in Fig. 2 only in that the flange 24 corresponding to the flange 2| is extended downwardly to the necessary length forming an open ended body to house the fire, the lower edge of which rests on the ground indicated by the numeral 25 or any surface surrounding the fire forming a substantially air tight connection therewith. This housing or body replaces the container in the Waste basket adaptation and performs the same function, namely to support the fire extinguishing drum at a point above the fire. f

With my drum device the waste basket can be used at all times without the necessity of removing covers or lids andalso at all times day or night it is readily to extinguish any fire that may accidently start within said basket.

The exact manner in which my improved drum controls and extinguishes fires is not completely understood, but it is believed that the following is a reasonable explanation of the theory of operation.

For illustration: when the paper or trash 23 is ignited,'the oxygen content of the air within the basket is rapidly consumed. In the usual type of waste basket, this oxygen loss would be replenished by 'thechimney action of the colder outside air descending into the basket so that the fire wouldlcontinuej toburn. However, with my improved construction, the fire is not sustained, but, onthe contrary, is snufied out within a'few seconds depending upon the size of the basket and the amount of the trash. It is believed that carbon dioxide and other gaseous products of combustion, which are incapable of supporting the'fire, collect'in'the zone 22, build up some pressure in this region and stream into the column of cold air which is endeavoring to flow downwardly through the openings l8 and If]. These gases are either projected into the column of cold air with sufiicient velocity to choke the cold airflow, or dilute the cold air suflicient- 1y to materially reduce the oxygen content of the mixturerelative to that originally obtaining in an equal volume of the cold air; In any case, the fire is automatically extinguished before the trash is consumed which definitely indicates that carbon dioxide and/or other gases are formed in relatively large quantities or that the oxygen loss of the air within the container is not restored with sufficientrapidity to sustain the fire.

I body.

It can be readily understood that my fire extinguishing drum will extinguish, in the same manner, any fire that it is practicable to enclose with an open ended body that can be made to form a substantially air tight connection with the ground or other surface surrounding the fire.

I claim:

1. A fire extinguishing unit comprising a drum having inwardly extending flanges at both top and bottom providing an aperture in each of the drum ends, and having an outwardly extending annular portion spaced from the top of the drum said annular portion having a flange extending downwardly therefrom forming an open ended 2. A fire extinguishing unit comprising a drum having an aperture in each end of a diameter less than that of the drum and having an outwardly extending annular portion spaced from the top of the drum, said annular portion having a flange depending therefrom and extending to a point below the lower end of the drum.

3. A fire extinguishing unit comprising a drum having'an aperture in each end of a diameter less than that of the drum and having an outwardly extending annular portion spaced from the top of the drum, said annular portion having a flange extending downwardly therefrom forming an open ended body, the lower portion of the drum extending into the body.

4. A waste basket comprising an open top container, a fire extinguishing unit comprising a drum, and means for supportingthe drum on the open end of the container to provide substantially an air tight connection therewith, each drum end having an aperture of a diameter less than that of the drum.

5. A fire extinguishing unit comprising a drum having end walls each including an aperture and an annular portion extending outwardly from the drum and provided with a flange projecting downwardly therefrom and forming an open ended body.

6. A fire extinguishing unit comprising a drum having upper and lower end walls each including an aperture and an annular portion extending outwardly from the drum and provided with a flange projecting downwardly therefrom and extending below thelower end wall to form an open ended body.

. 7. A fire extinguishing unit comprising a drum having end Walls each including an aperture and an annular portion extending outwardly from the drum and provided with a flange projecting downwardly therefrom and forming an open ended body, the lower portion of the drum extending into the body. 1 7

8. In a waste basket, the combination of an open top container and a fire extinguishing unit comprising a drum having end walls each ineluding an aperture and an annular portion extending outwardly from the drum, the portion supporting the drum on the open end of the container and having substantially an air tight connection therewith.

' WILLIAM F. BLAKE. 

